RWBY Schnee swap: RWhitleyBy
by Francisthesmol
Summary: A cold isolated mind behind a mask built to fool people, when you live a lie for so long it ends up becoming partly true. But is there still hope? Find out as Whitley Schnee fights his own blood in an attempt for revenge, and possibly finding where he truly belongs!
1. Chapter 1

_(Hello beautiful people! I'm here with the official reWrite of Schnee swap! The ideas and some polishing were done by Vastheawesomeness, Author of "Whitley's dilema" and "Prince among thorns" so check em out, they're a huge help and the whole reason I'm rewriting this! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think!)_

 _Today_.

The word echoed in the cold empty palace that was his mind. This day had seemed like a dream for so long, but now his frail body was hanging off the side of his bed, filled with excitement that was near impossible to express! His usual mask no longer affected him now that he was alone; the youngest Schnee let out a satisfied smirk and a sigh.

Today was the day it was all building up to, the day he would have his...revenge.

Revenge was such a foreign yet appealing concept; for so long now it only felt like the frigid temperatures of planning, patience and persistence, with only the promise of reward to keep him going. It felt like a far off goal that he sometimes thought would never come to light.

But now, here it was….and it was glorious.

The sunlight of Atlas danced off the fresh morning snow and into the glass window, lighting the soft blue and white room of the Schnee. It was neat, absolutely everything in its proper place. In one corner were neatly piled clothes with labels on the ground before them, one for each day of the week. In another was a keyboard and a pair of headphones; he used these when he wanted privacy. Otherwise, it'd be the cold ivory keys of the grand piano down the maze-like halls - in comparison, his keyboard had a certain sense of….comfort and safety. Yet another corner was a door - his private bathroom, connected to his room. It was certainly convenient in that he didn't have to traverse the frozen hallways of the manor at night just to find the bathroom.

Lastly was his bed, sat in the final corner of the room right below a window that showered the snowflake patterned covers with rays of light.

His room was perfect. Everything had its place, everything had a label if needed, a certain corner and so on - it was simply orderly and perfect.

He should stop praising himself over how proud he is over his room. The young lad had much more pressing matters to attend to. First order of business was to get dressed.

The day was Monday, a fitting start to what looked to be a promising week. The sheets were glided over to the end of the bed, and his feet made contact with the ground with a quick 'Thump!'

The contact with the floor was easily the worst shock of the day - no matter how many times he would try to get used to it, the shock of a cold floor to his relatively warm feet was nothing short of unsettling.

Again it mattered not. The unmoving thought of the bigger picture motivated the Schnee to move forward with purpose. His steps were full of pride and promise, large strides taking him over to the clothes piles like the cold floor was not affecting him at all.

Bony pale hands wandered down to pick up the first item of clothing - his underwear, a simple pair of blue boxers. He continued with article after article of clothing until he stopped suddenly to look at himself in the mirror seated by the clothes piles. What he saw in it was….infuriating.

Those bruises, ugly and brown on his otherwise perfect pale skin. Reminders of times he wasn't careful enough around father, or simple notes on how he needed to try harder in training. He was good enough….he would push himself, just to spite these blemishes that thought they had the right to be on perfectly pristine pale skin!

His training…..now where should one begin with that? This whole end goal was the reason the boy pushed himself through hell and back and thensome. At first, it had started with pushups and extra food portions to try and 'beef himself up' so to say, and even those had felt like torture on his brittle bones.

Yet every time he came to the decision to up the training or quit, he never backed down. If Whitley had one thing going for him, it was his persistence….or just plain stubbornness.

When the time came that he had felt his body was ready, he had needed to take the next step and craft his own weapon. Now what would a fine member of the Schnee family like himself possibly deem worthy as a tool for extending his greatness to the masses?

To be blunt….it was a knife. It was simple, and commonly deemed as one of the less dangerous weapons one could have, and that's exactly why he chose it. He compared it . . . to a pawn. Sure, there were more powerful pieces, stronger weapons to use, but the biggest advantage of a pawn is the ability to become something better than itself. Besides, isn't it a valid strategy, considering that a pawn is perfectly capable of taking down kings and therefore entire armies?

the boy improved on the knife. Well not him, rather, he used one of his connections to improve the knife for him. He was a businessman after all and you can't very well deal with Jacques for most of your life without picking up on one or two of his more useful practices and tricks.

His connection obeyed his orders completely (as one should for a Schnee), and his weapon was born - Morddulch, a knife that could turn into a spear and hold three different types of dust. Why, it was genius! Such a destructive and capable weapon in the right hands, and who would suspect a simple knife wielder to hold it?

Yes… looking back on his achievements, it made those bruises seem almost worth it. Almost….

By now Whitley was fully dressed in his usual attire - a snow white vest with red lining over top and a more creamy white short sleeve shirt below. His tie was a deep red, his pants a soft pale blue and dress shoes being black, of course (like any good shoes are).

It would finally start today…. Finally, after these years of careful planning and waiting, it would finally be time for - oh! The sound of Klein knocking probably meant that his breakfast was ready. Plenty of time to think about the revenge he was going to have later.

/

Crumbs, all that remained of his breakfast, were swept away from the corners of his mouth by a black handkerchief the Schnee kept in his breast pocket. Delicious as always; he should thank Klein for it before he leaves. Well...if he remembers to. He might not have time after….

"Good morning, Mistress Weiss."

Ah, the sound of Klein welcoming his…. _dear_...sister to the table.

 _This_ was the reason he was doing this.

But to understand that is a story in itself; one that began when Winter left to be Ironwood's personal military lapdog.

All he needed to remind himself of right now was that Weiss was the one who made no effort to try and reconcile with him after Winter left; she was the one who was favored, she was the heir to the company he KNEW he deserved, she was the one taking away his dream!

And so, he would take away hers.

Was it a bit too petty to take away your sister's dream out of spite? Perhaps so, but he was not a good person...only a good businessman.

She would have to learn that she should not mess with his dream unless she was prepared to face the consequences of her actions.

The memories started to flood back - all the slaps and hits and bruises because Weiss disobeyed a command their father had made, all the times that he had had to be so careful around his father, like he was stepping in a damned minefield!

But….what of his reaction? What did he convey to Weiss, the object of his hate (and...love strangely enough….complicated feelings to be pushed into the back of his mind)? Well, he simply gave a nod and a oddly genuine smile.

"Good morning, sister. Breakfast is delicious, as always."

Normally, a twitch of her eye or a sigh of annoyance would not have been out of the ordinary as her response. But today was a day Weiss had already decided would be a good day, and not even her strangely peppy brother would change that.

"Is it? I'll have to try it for myself"

And that was it. No lengthy conversation or sibling rivalry this morning. Why, she knew nothing, and it was so painfully amazing to watch! If he could savor the moment when her face would soon go into complete shock. Maybe it would make all those months upon months of grueling training seem like it was nothing!

And there they sat, not making a sound or so much as looking at each other. It was like any other day in this household. He would try to reach out with a smile and she would reject it almost instantly.

Eventually, Weiss finished eating and stood up abruptly, before making her way down the hall. She didn't tell him where she was going but…..he knew. And it was time.

It was finally _finally_ _FINALLY_ time to get his revenge on Weiss Schnee, and steal her dream of being a huntress from right under her!

 _...Tap...tap...tap_

The sounds of her heels clicking the ground.

 _Bump….bump…..bump…_

The sound of his shoes clamping onto the ground.

… … …

And the sound of tension was silent, yet it was so thick it was like he had trouble breathing in it.

"What do you think you're-!"

She snapped and turned around at him, annoyance _very_ clear in that high pitched tone. But alas, she was cut off. Oh, how he would miss another unwarranted verbal lashing from his loving sister….Not.

It was their father that interrupted her, just now coming from the other side of the door before them.

"Weiss, Whitley. Good to see you two made it on time." The man gave a smile….an unsettling smile given the circumstances surrounding it.

The same smile he had given last night.

Yes, this man was in on the plan to let his two dear children fight to the near death over - well it didn't matter what it was over! There was no excuse for allowing; he was a monster. But monster or not, he did unfortunately have some importance in this plan for revenge. His revenge on his father could wait for another time. _Patience leads to great things, Whitley._

"What are you talking about?! Why is _he_ here?!" Weiss protested, her shrill voice rousing with anger. She even stomped her foot on the ground, like she thought she was actually intimidating.

"Were you not aware? You're not the only one contending to go to Beacon today. What kind of father would I be if I didn't give both my lovely children a fair chance?"

 _Whatever helps you sleep at night, abusive bastard. Justifying what is basically child cage fighting and making yourself seem like the good guy?_ He did get his manipulative side from someone, as loathed as he was to admit it.

"This is absurd! He can't even fight!" His sister pointed to him.

Whitley let out a slight chuckle as he inspected his nails, as if to say she wasn't even worth looking at.

"Oh? And since when did you know so much about my fighting technique? It's not like you ever offered for me to join you."

"WHAT?! Why didn't you ever tell me you could fight?!"

 _Because seeing that stunned look on your face is strangely pleasing to my sadistic side? Or maybe it was the years of you ignoring me while I downright_ protected _you from our father's abuse?_

"It must have slipped my mind." He replied casually, keeping a straight face as he stepped forward. "Now dear sister, why don't we get this over with?"

"Fine," she replied, venom dripping off the end of the word.

The two siblings stepped into the chamber. It was originally a concert hall, but it had been completely cleared out, and the stage made into a battle arena with fences along the sides. Many statues of knights stood looking down at them from the edge of the ring, the grand white and blue of the hall sparkling in the daylight. It was nothing short of glamorous, and he could only describe it as a fitting place for this fight. Typical of Father.

Weiss was completely silent. He knew why of course; it was simple. She was determined not to let him ruin her chance at going to Beacon. She will underestimate him, though, and that would be the exact thing that spelled her downfall.

"Ready?" Jacques's voice called out.

The two took out their weapons. Weiss's rapier was a tricky thing to counter, but spears are often known at their excellent ways of dealing with such short ranged weapons as swords. Whitley took out Morddulch in its knife form, and his sister smirked.

 _Go on and underestimate me…._

"Begin!" The overgrown bush hair lip declared with a grin that seemed to spell out how terrible he truly was.

"Now wa-"

Weiss was cut off by a 'THUD!'

When did….when did he get so fast?! The only thing that was left of where Whitley originally stood were black skid marks from his shoes.

That thud noise….she looked to her sword hand to find her rapier had been knocked out of it. Rather than let herself be pushed so easily, Weiss lept backwards and grabbed her rapier back.

As she looked up to calculate her next move- the only sight there to greet her was the bottom of Whitley's dress shoes.

 _SMACK!_

Weiss was propelled backwards and skid across the ground until she stabbed her rapier into the ground and pushed herself up. That was it, _NO MORE MISSES NICE SCHNEE_!

A glyph began to appear below her, the markings befitting her family name. She would use it to jump forward and use the longer range of her sword to attempt to slash at the boy in front of her.

She charged -

' _CLANG'_

 _What?!_

The knife had changed; it had elongated into a silver and black spear and it had countered her blade. He used the ground he was on to overpower her and knock her to the side.

She landed upright and ready to return to the fight, growling slightly.

"You may be fast, but you don't have the glyphs!" Weiss declared, letting a dark glyph appear below Whitley to keep him in place.

She began to walk. _Click...click….click…._

"Now I can finally…"

 _Click….click…_.stop?

"What?"

Weiss seemed to be stuck too - looking down, she could barely make out a second black glyph below her.

"What was that, my dear sister?" For once in a lifetime Whitley gave her a genuine grin - a cocky, maniacal grin.

"That doesn't matter, I can still-"

Once again, the heiress was cut off - this time by ice suddenly freezing her weapon's barrel in place, causing her to flinch and the glyph she had placed to drop.

She was stuck in place now, and Whitley wasn't dumb enough to let himself stand too close. Instead he would make use of the fire dust in his weapon and continually fire at her.

Stuck in place, she had to use her aura and rapier to block it….and it was draining her, _quickly._

"Now, I can finally…"

 _FWOOSH._

 _CLANG._

"Get!"

 _FWOOSH._

 _CRASH._

"MY REVENGE!"

 _FWOOSH._

"Gah!"

Her aura dropped into the red - the fight should have been over, and Whitley should have noticed it. But his mask had dropped, and he wasn't paying attention to anything else.

That cold palace of his mind was now a roaring fire of passion and hate. He paid no attention to the aura levels as Morddulch shortened back into a knife, and he lunged at her one final time.

" _ **You can't have your cake and eat it too**_!"

It was too fast for her to react, she screamed out before-

It happened.

Blood dripped down from the skin over her eye, the lids closed and tears formed… she quietly began to sob.

 _What...what have I done?_


	2. Chapter 2

_SMACK!_

"Gah!"

 _Drip, drip…._ The blood splattered onto the pristine clean floor of the hallway, the surface acting like a layer of glass and letting the fluid pass over it and into the farther reaches. Burning, _agonizing_ pain aches from the fresh wound. Despite being so small, his entire arm felt like it was tensing up.

" _ **THAT**_ is what you get for harming the appearance of the company heiress! You ungrateful rat!"

Whitley kept his eyes squinted shut, his face turned away. "S-sorry, father, f-forgive-"

" _FORGIVE?!_ Now why would I possibly do that?!" Jacques reached down and pulled the boy up by his tie, and slammed him against the wall. He didn't struggle….just let his body be sprawled against the wall like he was some kind of animal. "You listen here. I _gave_ you this chance because I thought you had learned your lesson by now!"

The grip on his tie tightened as his father pushed him harder against the wall; breathing was now becoming a difficult task.

"But no. You pushed it too far, and this little stunt of yours has scarred the face of the company! Do you know what that could cost it?!"

 _Company, company, company_ ; it's always the company. The one moment he had let his frustration out...it was only beaten back into him.

 _Splat._ A fresh drop of blood fell onto the floor from his wound. Upon seeing this, Jacques scoffed and released his grip. Whitley hit the ground with a thump.

"Clean this blood up before any servant finds you." A pause, another scowl. "You are to call me every day, do you understand?"

Silence.

" _DO YOU UNDER_ -"

"Y-yes, sir! Every day!"

With that, Jacques let out an angry grunt before walking off.

... _Bastard…I hate yo-_

"Ngh!" His thoughts were cut off by the searing pain of the open wound still exposed to the outside. Whitley bit his tongue and ripped a part of his sleeve on his other arm, wrapping it around the wound located just shy of his elbow and tightening it with a knot. At least now it had some pressure on it….he'd have to think of some excuse and have Klein look at it. Can't be going to Beacon with an infected wound after all.

"...Beacon…" The soft sobs of a girl filled the air.

No time to clean the blood up yet….No, he knew exactly what he had to do now. After all, it's his fault his own sister is in tears.

 _Knock knock._

"...Sister."

No response. The hunched-over figure sat in a chair in her room, quietly sobbing, not even noticing her guest in the open door.

"Stop that!" Whitley commanded with a booming voice. Weiss looked up to see Whitley with a somewhat angered face. "Stop crying like some child. Let me see that wound."

/

 _Pat...pat…_ The sound of cloth hitting the delicate open wound around Weiss's eye. She made no movement to either thank him or yell at him. No, it was just silence, and staring off into the distance at nothing with her one good eye.

"It looks like it will scar, but it could have been a lot worse if I left it for you to cry over." Whitley scoffed, looking away from his sister as he pressed her hand over the cloth to keep the pressure on.

He stood up and walked towards the door. Before leaving, though, he placed a hand on the doorframe and looked back at Weiss.

"...Fear not my dear sister," he frowned from the doorway. "Your dream is in good hands," he paused, before closing the door behind him.

 _SLAM!_

… _.Huff….puff…...huff..puff….HUFF...PUFF._

How _**DARE**_ he!

The Heiress suddenly rose up. So he wanted to play _that game_?!

 _Well, two can play at your game, my dear brother… I will ruin you! I will take this company, and make sure you never get to see your dream lived out! I will have my revenge!_

/

Whitley shivered, but assumed it was just his nerves and moved on.

/

Even with pain medicine in his system, he was still tossing and turning. Thinking about _that moment_ , when Morddulch cut open his sister's face.

What made him better than his father now?

What made him better than the White Fang?

Was he really such a...monster? It was only one act, though….right? So why did it feel like he could no longer say for sure that he was different than them?

He had resorted to violence like some kind of….savage!…..to hurt his sister. He was on the same path as those he despised more than anything.

He sat up gingerly and rubbed at his face. This is going to be a long night.

He held out those hands in front of him. These same hands had harmed so easily… they were the hands of someone who was almost a _murderer_. How can he now wield Morddulch ever again without thinking back to that moment? Could he really fight against other people so readily? Grimm were terrifying….but it was the thought of fighting people again that made him fear what he may do, what he might become inside. In essence, was he now any better than the Grimm?

He'd have to find out later. He had a dream to fulfill.

Whitley was many things, but above all he was stubborn beyond belief. He was not going to stop halfway there.

/

 _Budump._

 _Budump. Budump._

His heart raced, his breathing somewhat faster than ever as the boy looked out onto the open space of. . . the airport. Yes, even just stepping out into an airport was a big step for someone as reclusive as Whitley had been for the past few years. His suitcases were piled up on a trolley outside and he was….alone. He looked to his side, expecting to find someone yelling at him but….no. Father didn't even come to see him off; he wanted as little to do with this as possible. And despite his hatred of the man…..it was terrifying not having him there at the same time.

 _Just breathe….breath, Whitley, breath._

 _In….out…..in...out..in-_

"Master Whitley?"

The driver, Klein, asked, looking at him with a strangely empathetic look. Usually he couldn't understand Klein (at least he normally couldn't tell which one of his seven personalities were in control), but patterns seemed to show that he showed his more angered and annoyed sides around him when his father wasn't around.

But actually showing a caring side to him….? This was new.

"Yes?" He asked, feigning a slight smile as to say 'Don't bother, I am PERFECTLY FINE.'

"...I despise you." He said plainly. "I hate what you did to Weiss.."

Well, that was understandable. Even he hated himself for it….but…

"Although I know why it had to be done."

Yes exactly! Wait, what?! Klein was….agreeing with him?

"I do not forgive you. I do not wish to ever have to converse with this current you ever again. But . . . . this is still a chance for one of you. Although Weiss isn't able to have it…..there's no point in me abandoning you in this time of need. This could help you, help you strive away from the path that man had forged for you."

"..."

"If you kept going under that pressure and circumstances, you might have ended up slitting someone's throat in their sleep. You are a pitiful, angry little boy….and you may benefit from this more than Weiss ever could. Do _not_ let this go to waste. Because if you come back no better than when you went, I can't guarantee I won't stop mistress Weiss from beheading you then and there."

It seemed like he switched from being caring to anger in a matter of seconds…..this was the most he had ever actually talked to Klein. But….he was right, the damn fool. Weiss was closer to their butler than he was, so she would benefit more from staying than he would have. He knew this….and although he hates how he got here, Whitley will NOT let this go to waste.

Why, that would just be a bad business move.

 _Badump…. Badump . . ._

His heart had slowed enough, and he took a deep breath in. He opened the door and-

"Phew…."

Breathed out.

 _Tap. Tap. Tap_. He took the handle of the trolley to push his luggage through the remainder of the airport, and into the loading bay of the airship. He then turned to Klein, and gave him a slight smile.

"If I keel over at Beacon, you may do as you wish with my belongings, as long as they don't go to Weiss."

…

"or anyone else in my immediate family."

…

"Oh and make sure mother doesn't-"

He really should have timed that better, as the announcement for take off interrupted his thoughts. It was time.

Beacon….

Whitley Schnee is coming for you.

/

The distant sound of vomit entering a trash can made him ( _think of mother_ ) nearly keel over in disgust.

He shook his head and moved on. Hopefully there's enough students to allow for him to never get acquainted with that person…

Many students, yes. In this giant metal casket, there were many young adults looking to become huntresses and hunters. Most of them stood in the back, looking like they're just begging for a fight. Whose idea was it to put a bunch of hormone-filled, near adults eager to prove themselves against the world (near super-powered adults, for that matter), in a cramped school environment?

How he despised the common riff raff; not the ones that minded their own business...but the aggressive savages that seemed to only want to prove themselves as the alpha. All brawn and no brains.

As the Airship began to land, he let out a sigh of relief, his hands planted firmly behind his back and close to his weapon attached to his belt. _Here I go…_

As he walked out with his baggage, fate seemed to decide then and there to show him what his life will be like for now on.

A red hooded girl bumped into him and his highly explosive luggage, and he automatically clenched in anticipation of an early death.

….Upon noticing he wasn't in a crater, he concluded that the luggage didn't in fact blow the school sky high. Instead his attention turned towards the minor pain in his rump as he landed on it. _I need to remember to use my Aura, I'm not in the Manor anymore._

"Ugh…" A soft spoken female voice called out, urging him to get up and onto his own two feet and wipe some dust off his lower half so he could help the girl up.

But, just then, he saw the red hooded figure jump up right beside him, and look….shocked? Somewhat scared? Nervous.

"Ah! I'm sorry! Totally my fault! Super sorry!"

 _Now it's time to prove that you can do this better then Weiss ever could._

She would have thrown a _fit_.

He smiled. "It's quite alright," he lied through his teeth.

"Oh really? Well uh- at least let me help you with your luggage."

His annoyance died down- if only just a little. _At least she appears to have some manners._

"That would be appreciated." He answered, picking up one bag of luggage as he looked over to make sure this girl stayed true to her word.

He really looked her over for the first time. Her clothing had the appearance of some superhero a little girl would make up. Her face, though, was….cute? Well, it seemed to still have some baby fat that never went away, cheeks he could practically hear his grandma Schnee want to pinch. His mother's mother was a big excentric when she was alive…

But most striking were….those eyes. Big silver eyes that seemed to trap his gaze and freeze his body entirely. It was...almost magical how they entranced him, begging him to stare deeper and find whatever secrets lay inside this girls mind.

And he would do that, were he not Whitley and had self control.

The girl did in fact help him pick up his luggage, so he let himself bow a little. Might as well get on people's good sides on the first day.

"Thank you. Now, I insist we properly introduce ourselves." Whitley explained with a gesture of his hand.

"I am Whitley Schnee. And to who -" He reached down to grasp her hand, giving the back of it a soft kiss, as par for the course in Atlesian culture. " - do I owe this pleasure?" He flashed a toothy smile.

She flushed and stammered incomprehensibly, looking anywhere but at him.

Whitley never met someone like this before.

"O-oh. W-well I'm- R-rudy- RUBY! I'm Ruby! Just Ruby! A normal girl with normal knees!"

...Well this was new.

"...Congratulations?" He let go of her hand. He should leave before this got any more awkward.

He started walking. Ruby followed.

 _So much for leaving before things got awkward. Oh well, in for a lien-_

"Do you….know where you're going?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Uh, do you?" She questioned back.

"...Good point."

After scaring him half to death with her sniper scythe (and forcing him to show her his own weapon) they found the auditorium, after Whitley asked a 3rd year student for directions of course (Ruby being too shy to do so).

There they met Yang, who was apparently Ruby's sister. "Where were you, sis? Why did you leave me?!"

 _...is it normal for sisters to abandon their family members?_

/

Ruby Rose. Age: 15. Height: 5'2.

Academics: Maths: C

Languages: B

Art: C

History: C+

Geography: C+

Combat: A+

Dust studies: B

Grimm studies: B+

Smithing and engineering:A+

Combat School: Signal

Semblance: Super Speed

Weapon: Scythe sniper rifle. "Crescent Rose."

Family:

Father: Tai-yang Xaio-long.

Mother: Summer Rose. (Deceased)

Step Sister: Yang Xaio-long.

"Uncle": Qrow Brawnwen

Fathers ex wife: Raven Branwen.

Pet: A Corgi named Zwei

"Overall she seems like the typical sweet and innocent girl from a family of hunters. But I did some digging into her mother and….it was almost blank. I did eventually figure out there was a reason most of her files were missing; the word on the street is it's to do with her silver eyes. Don't mention that to Ozpin"

-Your pal.

And the report on Ruby Rose ended there. Whitley sighed and nodded, not much information he could do anything with. It seemed Ruby was plain and boring, though the mention of the silver eyes….yes he saw something in those eyes before. _Note to self, research on the disappearance and presumed death of Summer Rose_

He then turned his attention to the report on the other page.

-Yang Xaio-long.

Age: 17

Height: 5'8

Academics:

Maths: C

Languages: C

Art: D

History: D+

Geography: C

Combat: A+

Dust studies: B-

Grimm Studies: B

Smithing and engineering: B

Combat School: Signal

Semblance: Takes power from hits received, and can use them to power herself up for a short time.

Weapon: Twin shotgun gauntlets. Ember Celica

Family:

Father: Tai-yang Xaio-long

Mother (Currently leading a bandit tribe): Raven Branwen

Step mother (deceased): Summer Rose

Step sister: Ruby Rose

Uncle: Qrow Branwen

"Yang is a hot headed young woman who is very outgoing and seems to get in a fair bit of trouble. Her mother abandoned her and she's still searching for her. She is protective of Ruby."

"Oh, so its genetic." he rubbed his chin. "Hmm..nothing too amazing there. Her combat seems to be close-range specific, more so than most. Her semblance could be troublesome."

He sighed and placed his scroll down. He rested his head on the mat he'd… try, to sleep on. Ozpin's speech was… something. But the announcement afterwards, that they'd all sleep in the auditorium for the night?! That was outrageous! So many girls and boys sleeping in one room, it was the makings of a disaster! And young pregnancies.

Nothing to do now though but study those few he knew by name for tomorrow, and to attempt to sleep. Everyone seemed to be quieting down now; everyone except for…

"Oh, for crying out loud." he huffed and stood up, walking over to Ruby and Yang, who were roughhousing in front of some other girl.

The sound of soft feet making their way across the room would usually go unnoticed, but as he approached the group of girls...one turned to him, the bow on her head twitching a little as she looked over. Strange.

She had long somewhat curly black hair and pale skin, and she wore what seemed to be a cross between pajamas and a dressing gown….perhaps it was somehow mistralian in origin? That's the only place he can think of that matches the style. She also held a book in her hand. His attention wasn't on the book however, as a low hiss alearted him as to her opinion of him.

"Schnee…" she practically snarled. Her eyes seemed to squint in anger...those eyes . . . they were _yellow_. Strikingly wild yellow, the kind you don't normally see on a person. Something was...off about her. But the fact that she seemed to hate his family name?

Immediately he lost interest in her. "Indeed, I am. Now ladies." He said, standing up straight and trying to sound as understanding as possible, yet with no room for argument. "It is rather late, and I already have trouble sleeping. Do you mind keeping it down?"

"Ah! We're sorry!" Ruby panicked. "Right Yang? Blake?"

Blake…? Hm, not a completely unusual name to hear in Vale...but it didn't seem right.

The sister, Yang, spoke. She was tall with long flowing blonde hair, and wore a...well not revealing set of pajamas, but it certainly looked comfortable for a hot night. Her features were befitting someone of her stature - intimidating.

"Hey, aren't you the guy from earlier?" she asked Whitley. She turned to her sister. "The one you said you had a crush on?"

The reaper blushed and hid her face. "Yaaang!"

Whitley had to hide his face as well. She really was going to be troublesome.

/

As he found himself walking back to his resting place, he pulled out his scroll, typing out one last message to his information collector.

'Do you have any way of finding out about a Blake in Beacon, Black hair and yellow eyes.'

...

'...I'm willing to pay double.'

He got a response after that.

'I'll see what I can do my pal'

/

As Whitley lay awake during the late hours of the night he wondered about many things, but he was once again interrupted by the sound of his scroll buzzing.

-Blake Belladonna.

Age: 17. Height 5'6.

"She seems to have some sort of fake entry for Beacon, but she was stupid enough to use her real name. Little kitten here has some secrets. She's a Faunus, the child of the former leader of the White Fang, Ghira Belladonna. I don't have any proof she was involved in the White Fang, however, so I'm assuming either it was covered up or destroyed, or just doesn't exist because she wasn't heavily involved. As her entry was fake, I didn't take into account family listed, but it mentioned someone named Tukson(?) Same reason I didn't include her grades. This is all I'm willing to do for the pay. Good luck kid!"

His heart pounded as he looked over in her direction. She could be White Fang… What was he going to do?

After a few minutes he closed his eyes and forced himself to think logically.

 _I can use her secrets as blackmail if needed. Otherwise, I should ignore her, as I have done previously. For all_ she _knows, all that_ I _know is that she's just a random_ human _girl that hates my family._

Yes...he would have a lot more to think about during the early hours of the morning. It didn't help his attempts at sleep that he was slowly growing paranoid about two yellow eyes watching him….


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Twenty. Minutes.

Whitley groaned as he sat up and rubbed at his face. He slept for twenty minutes. _Damn insomnia_ … He stopped himself from blaming Blake; he couldn't prove that she was White Fang. _Still, her family_ started _the White Fang so… no, ignore her, Whitley._ Ignore. _Her._

He grabbed his stuff and headed towards the bathrooms to change and make himself presentable. Getting rid of the bags under his eyes was always a pain, but it's what one gets when they don't take their sleeping pills.

He stuck a melt-away energy vitamin under his tongue before leaving the bathroom and heading towards the mess hall for breakfast.

Well, it would have been a simple walk to breakfast if he were not stuck overhearing a dreadfully dull conversation on the way.

"What sounds do sloths make?"

….Nope, ignore it and keep walking. Ohh, pancakes for breakfast….

He walked up and took a few to put on his plate, squirting some syrup over the top. Next, he found a vacant table and began to eat.

...Hmm, not as good as Klein's cooking. A bit drier than he'd like; that was probably why an orange-haired girl was literally slathering her plate with syrup.

Well, a mildly disappointing breakfast wasn't going to ruin this day! He had to go and make sure he could form the ideal team! He knew of Ruby and Yang, as well as Blake….Ruby seems too young and immature (hypocritical, since he was the same age, but sue him) and Blake….best forget she exists. Yang could come in handy, though her temper could pose a...problem.

He guessed it was time to do some scouting and find his locker. 634….what a strange number to receive.

/

Who would put the 600's on the opposite side of the 20's?! WHAT KIND OF ORGANIZATION WAS THAT! Anyway, apart from having to run halfway across the school to look for his locker (it felt like it, anyways), he was having an okay day so far. The reason for that? He JUST noticed…. _Pyrrha Nikos_! The " _invincible girl_ "! He knew of her due to his sister's obvious celebrity crush on her. She would be a _perfect_ teammate.

Strong, rational, intelligent. What wasn't there to like about her?!

But rather than let his giddiness give away his intention he put on the mask yet again, approaching her with a soft smile and a wave.

"What an amazing day it is; the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I have been enchanted by your beauty. Truly, it is my honor to be in your presence, one of such a proud and intelligent warrior...Pyrrha Nikos. I am Whitley Schnee, and the pleasure is _all_ mine."

Pyrrha gave him an awkward smile as she laughed nervously. "Ah, y-yes well…"

 _...Maybe I overdid it. Curse my lack of social interaction. Curse my overly smooth and enchanting ways!_

"Forgive me, I don't leave the manor often. Let me try again." He hoped he could salvage this. "I'm Whitley and it's a pleasure to meet you in person. My sister is a huge fan." He didn't know anything else he could say. It would be a hot day in Atlas before Whitley would start a conversation with "hi, wassup?!" or some such nonsense.

Before Pyrrha could respond, a blond-haired guy in a hoodie and white armour walked over. "Hey guys, what's up? I've heard something about teams?"

Ugh, another imbecile who probably barely knew how to swing a sword around! "Yes, there are teams. And _who_ is asking?" He let a slight distasteful frown show, his foot tapping impatiently.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm sure beautiful over there wants to join Team Jaune." The guy boasted.

Pyrrha giggled. Whitley's eye twitched. "...Do you know who we are?"

"Nope."

 _...Ow, my ego._

" _I_ am Whitley Schnee. And this is-"

"Wait, you're related to Weiss Schnee?"

"Um, yes? Anyways, this is-"

"That's so awesome! I love her music! You should totally hook a bro up!"

 _...what?!_

 _Well at least Pyrrha seems to find that annoying too….or is that a look of jealousy?_

"Listen here, you ignoramus. I would sooner let Atlas burn to the ground before I would let a buffoon like you anywhere near my sister!"

He looked to Pyrrha to see if she was on his side. Her frown said otherwise. He might have sounded too mean.

 _Damn it._ "...Just kidding. Excuse me." And with that, Whitley stormed away.

"So, no one for Team Jaune?" Said blonde exclaimed with a saddened expression

"I, for one, think it's a lovely idea," he overheard the redhead say as he stormed off. Why would _PYRRHA_ ATLAS FORSAKEN _NIKOS_ WANT A GUY LIKE THAT?! HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHO SHE IS!

 _...Oooooohhhhhhh._ He facepalmed. _Why didn't I think of that? He's a manipulative genius, like me, but obviously more observant than I... And he got me to leave him alone with her…! He's a serious threat that I must deal with later._

/

He stood on a metal plate, his stance wide and ready, his weapon already drawn in preparation.

"...I haven't even began to speak yet" The headmaster chastised him.

" . . . Right." Whitley let himself relax a little, letting out a breath of air in a sigh.

Honestly, he was not relaxed at all. This would be his first time in a forest, his first time killing Grimm, his first time using Morddulch in a public area and...his first time actually trying to team up with other people! And how would the initiation go? Would he be ready? Would he be partnered with some incompetent fool?!

Whitley was too busy thinking to hear what Glynda and Ozpin were saying. Before he knew it, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Ruby's cry of "WHAT?!"

 _Oh no… I doomed myself already._ Whitley thought as he felt his stomach drop.

Oh, wait, no, it didn't drop; he had left it at the cliff. He was flying now.

"SHIT!"

/

Swirling whirlwinds whizzed past his face, the free air swallowing him whole and taking away that sense of safety you get on solid ground.

It was only after a few moments of flying aimlessly that he got a grip on the situation and grabbed the back of his belt to get his weapon.

He made contact with the hilt of his knife and pulled it out, then he clenched his other fist and eyed the rings on his fingers. Upon seeing the colour, this boy decided to take action.

Suddenly…..

 _Thump!_

His foot made contact with something! A small foot sized glyph floated below his foot, letting him gain traction and jump forward.

 _Thump!_

 _Thump!_

 _Thump!_

He jumped from circle to circle in the air, getting a good distance before deciding he had slowed down enough to jump off and into the thick of the trees below.

"Hya!"

 _SLICE!_

He cut off the thick of a tree branch blocking his way, and the Schnee landed on the ground with dust swirling around him. It was only when he saw two dark red eyes trailing his movements….that he had decided he had wandered upon a bad path.

"Oh, come on…"

 _ROAR!_

The beast's neck hurled back in a violent motion as the roar echoed into the thick shrubbery around them. The area in which they stood was a clearing and….some kind of nest? Thick straw was layered on the ground that he gathered this monster used as some kind of bedding.

This monster was formidable - easily 10 times the size of himself and with great giant limbs that seemed to be packed full of power. It was….almost too intimidating.

But instead of listening to his instincts, he charged forward. He couldn't lose here. He had to prove he was good enough to live Weiss's dream! So he ran straight in with a battle cry.

"HYAAA!" He called out, jumping at the beast. A big black hand with claws swung at him, and Whitley used his glyphs to jump back out of the way. And - there was an opening! If he acted now-

He reached a hand behind himself to prepare a glyph, one he used to jump straight off of like a wall and prepare Molddorch to-

 _SLASH!_

 _ROAR!_

Yes! He had hit it! Black inky smoke drizzled out before….it looked at him, more pissed off than before. The creature charged at Whitley, and he barely managed to move his body in a way that one of his claws BARELY grazed past. No..this wasn't how it was supposed to be!

HE WOULD NOT BE MADE A FOOL OFF BY SOME….BRAINLESS GRIMM!

Whitley landed on the opposite end as the beast turned around in its tracks and began to charge.

Would he dodge and counter? Would he use his glyphs to move out the way? No. He may be a speed fighter but DAMN IT he has power too! He stuck his feet into the ground and prepared both his hands to make a particularly large glyph….one the size of the grimm creature!

 _CRASH!_

The Grimm collided with the glyph. The monster still charged, and Whitley was beginning to be pushed back. But as the beast lost momentum against the solid glyph, the Schnee boy found his and began to push this thing back. It was enough for him to remove one hand and - grip his spear and - ha!

Ice sprang from where the boy stood and claimed the legs of the Grimm. It now seemed to be...stuck. Well, not stuck, the ice cracked a little under the pressure and it did seem to struggle…..but it was in place long enough for Whitley to jump high up in the air and charge down with his spear, letting out one final cry

"I AM STRONG ENOUGH TO LIVE THIS DREAM!"

 _SMRACK!_

The blade cut straight through the head. The feral creature's body turned limp before turning to smoke and dissipating into the air.

…..He….did it.

 _Ha….haha….ahahaha! I, Whitley Schnee, have claimed the life of a beast known as humanity's mortal enemy! With even these creatures trembling before me, there is nothing to stop me from living out her dream!_

He thought as his hands shook, not with fear….but with excitement!

He let out a little smile, a confident one, and began to walk further into this forest. Wasn't there something about partners and teams?

/

It had been a long time (it felt like) since he had defeated that grimm, and while it was a good thing he had such an easy time getting around now . . .it was somewhat boring? He still had no idea what to do about partners. Did he just grab the first person he sees?

Speaking of people, the silhouette of a person seemed to be getting closer…..ever closer...until -

-black hair, a bow on her head. Yes….it was Blake Belladonna. It felt like those eyes would burrow straight into his head! So he avoided looking at them at all costs.

 _NOPE!_

He turned and walked in a different direction.

Hopefully the next person he met would be better- wait...what's that screaming?

He turned his head to see-

"WHITLEEEYYYYYY…..Hi!" The sound of boots screeching against dirt and stones filled the air, wind blew past him as a face grew ever closer before...stopping a few inches away from him.

A childish girly face, one with innocent silver eyes and black hair with red highlights. Of course….Ruby Rose.

"Whoa whoa shi- Careful!" He spat out at her, his finger pointing at her face. "Who knows what could have happened?! You could have taken someone's eye out!" He scolded, his eyebrows...raising softly as he calmed down.

"Sorry!" She chirped, those damned silver ovals staring into him like some kind of…..lost puppy!

How could he possibly stay mad at something like that?!

"Very well, you seem sorry enough. The important thing is finding the relics and partners…" He mumbled, putting a finger to his chin.

"Uh, but we're partners!"

... _What._

He turned, his face in a...strangely pained smile.

"What was that? I must have misheard…."

"We're partners! The, uh….first person you make eye contact with is your partner. For the rest of Beacon. ISN'T THAT GREAT?! I get to be with you for the rest of my time here! Thank cookies I got someone like you and not someone I don't know."

…. _has stopped responding, do you wish to send a crash report?_

Was he….stuck here? In this school, for the ENTIRE year - no, HOWEVER LONG HE WILL BE THERE - with someone who acts like they just turned 5?!

No! There was no way! Simply there had to be some mistake! Maybe she heard the rules wrong?!

…..No, it's not like Ruby was the type to lie about these kinds of things, from what he saw from her.

Whitley sighed. It would simply have to be accepted, at least for now. He swallowed that pride and turned to her.

"We are to walk in silence until we see the relics, unless you see Grimm. Is that clear? Not a word unless we see them or the relics!"

Ruby nodded, mimicking the motion of zipping her mouth shut.

"Got it!" She said with a salute, walking off in….the opposite direction.

"This way," he sighed

"That way!" she echoed

/

"Whitley, look!"

"I told you not to speak unless-" His face dropped. There were pairs of red eyes trailing around them.

"But! Beowolves!" He hated it when she was right.

Whitley stood forward, whipping out his knife before letting it shift into Morddulch's spear form. He posed in an attacking position.

"I got this," he said with a cool smirk before-

 _CAW!_

A giant claw grabbed him and lifted him up into the air. Immediately he lost all sense of control.

"I DON'T GOT THIS!"

"WHITLEY NO!" Ruby screamed. Running after, she jumped and managed to grab onto the giant crow-like bird, gripping onto its hard feathers.

"What are you doing?! You should have ran!"

"I would never leave my partner to die!"

He let out an annoyed growl. "Perfect, now we can die together!"

/

After a period of flight with nothing eventful, he uncrossed his arms and actually looked towards Ruby. She was...slipping?!

"Ruby! Are you-!?"

And before she could speak, the bird tilted, letting Ruby be shaken off and fall to the ground.

"RUBY!" He called out, looking to the girl plummeting down below. Surely she would be hurt at this height! She would-

And then the image of a blonde cannonball knocking her and itself into a nearby tree branch filled his area of vision.

Well...she was safe at least?

….but what about him?!

Well, before he got the chance to answer that question, it seemed the bird deemed him more than it's worth to carry, and instantly he regretted leaving the monsters claws!

"AHHHHHH!"

He screamed, clutching Morddulch in its knife form to his chest.

 _This is it, Weiss_ ….he'd die here.

 _Sister...I'm so sorry I was too weak to do this…..I….I-_

 _Klein better not pawn my stuff!_

"I GOT YOU BRO!"

 _Or Jaune could save me. That works….I guess._

 _BUMP_

He landed on the blonde's back, checking the back of his nails.

"We are not bros"

Jaune groaned and gave him a thumbs up. Not that Whitley paid attention as he walked towards the group near the - oh hey! The relics!

Though, before he could actually do anything about said relics, a bone-breaking hug came from the red reaper. Such close proximity...it felt indecent and unnatural!

 _Don't stop._

"Let go of me!" He screeched out, his voice actually cracking a little.

"But I nearly lost you! My bestest friend in the world! What would I do without you?!"

"Have actual friends?" He commented somewhat sarcastically.

Whitley hadn't had time to notice before but there were some...new faces.

A orange-haired girl that seemed to wield a giant hammer, and beside her a male with black hair with a pink streak. His weapon choice was less obvious than the girl. Of course Yang, Ruby's half sister and the resident brawler back in Signal if his information is correct.

He didn't care to note the black haired girl with the bow.

"So, the six -" Whitley began.

"Seven" Yang corrected

"Six of us are here, now-?" He continued before being interrupted AGAIN.

A giant deathstalker was chasing Pyrrha Nikos - wait, when did that happen?

Anyway, it was now closing in on their location, and it was time for ACTION!

"Let's run towards the cliffs!" Ruby shouted. grabbing a relic.

 _What an idio-!_

"Good idea!" Jaune shouted, doing the same.

 _Nevermind._

Pyrrha ran past, and everyone followed her lead.

The group ran together. The cliff wasn't that far, but with a Deathstalker on their tail? They got there quite a bit faster than they normally would have.

Oh, and if it wasn't for perfect timing, the Nevermore that he and Ruby had rode in had come back. It screamed in fury, and seeing its target once more, a flurry of feathers bigger than them flew down and lodged themselves into the ground.

One almost hit Ruby. Instead, it pinned her cape. And the death stalker tail came down and-!

 _CRASH_

Instead of the tail crushing the girl's head like a grape, the tail was held back by a large Glyph from Whitley's hand.

"I suppose...we're even. Now, why don't you show me what you can do?" He offered, giving a smile.

Ruby smiled. "Sure!" she chirped

Whitley breathed out, his breath becoming steam as ice spread from the hilt of his knife to contain one of the death stalker's leg.

"Go for it!" Whitley let out with a somewhat gleeful tone. The girl (now free from the feather) moved past him, only to be stopped by a hug from behind.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Yang exclaimed. Ruby gave out a somewhat pained noise.

"COULD YOU DO THIS SOME OTHER TIME?!" Whitley let out, emphasising the fact he was keeping a DEATHSTALKER contained in ice!

Yang chuckled awkwardly, and let Ruby go to rub her neck sheepishly.

"Guys….that thing is circling back on us!" The blonde male stammered out, pointing to a distant Nevermore in the sky.

"There is no sense in fighting!" Ruby spoke up, after taking in the full situation and showing her partner the relic she had picked up. A chess piece? "We just need to get back to the cliffs."

"Run and live; a plan I can get behind!" Jaune added. So he also had a sense of self-preservation, eh? He was shaping up to be more of a leader than he expected…a true genius! Even if him insisting on calling him 'bro' was getting old.

"We're close. We just need to get past those ruins," the black haired boy stated. Whitley nodded.

"We could use the ruins to avoid the Grimm."

"Run for it?"

"Run for it."

Pyrrha had her hands on her knees, probably not looking forward to _more_ running. Poor girl.

 _To be continued_


	4. Chapter 4

"Ready? Let's go!" Ruby shouted from the top of her lungs as the group started to run. Up above was the circling Nevermore, and just behind them the Deathstalker had broke free of its icy imprisonment and gave chase.

The two groups seemed to separate as the Deathstalker followed Jaune, Pyrrha and the two he didn't know the names of yet. Whitley looked over to see Ruby and Yang moving to hide behind one of the pillars, begrudgingly he ran alongside no one in particular, certainly not someone with a bow, and hide behind a parallel pillar.

As he began to peak from the safety of the stone column he found himself staring at the sight of the giant nightmare bird sitting on top of the tower, it looked similar to the stone pillars but….a tower.

And then the beast gave a mighty roar, the pillars shook and vibrated slightly.

"Well that's great"

He overheard the blonde brawler next to his partner say.

And as if anything could get any worse…..from the other side of the ruins he heard Jaune's "Oh man run!" And looked over to see the Deathstalker had caught up to them! And it was now chasing Jaune and Pyrrha, while he heard the two he didn't know begin to speak.

"Nora, distract it!"

Nora, who he gathered to be the redhead, jumped out and began to run across an opening. The Nevermore raised up and let out a terrifying screech and then shot a flurry of feathers at the girl. She rolled just out of touch of one of the feathers and then took out her weapon. It was a grenade launcher! It seemed to fit what little of her personality the Schnee had seen….

But then he saw the Deathstalker try to sneak up to the girl, and so he ran in with some others and landed on a glyph which he used to propel himself away while grabbing the redheads arms to get her out of danger.

He landed and let go, the two began instantly running away from the giant scorpion like monster and across a bridge. As he passed the champion Pyrrha he heard her say the words "Go go go!"

He heard shots, but didn't care to look back and instead focus on running.

They were a group now and they ran towards the tower the Nevermore once rested on top of.

 _If only I can make it to shelter….!_

He thought out loud, increasing his pace only for-

 _ **CRASH**_

The bridge was broken through by the giant bird creature!

Luckily he had managed to get across, and the blonde known as Jaune seemed to roll over and land safely on their side.

Everyone but three were with him, Pyrrha, No one in particular and the other male he didn't catch the name of yet.

Shots fired off everywhere, from those who had long ranged weapons. He could only watch his partners back and watch the scene play out before him.

This intense situation….this rush…..Weiss may of wanted to take the lead here.

No, not him. He knew his life was FAR more important than simply proving himself, so he left the plans to the blonde who clearly outmatched him in intelligence. For now it was just survive.

"We need to help them" Nora said, holding her rocket launcher like a baby in her arms.

It seemed Jaune agreed. "Yeah but uh...I can't make that jump."

He heard laughing and Jaune falling backwards, and the next moment-

 _BASH_

The girl had hit the bridge and send herself and the blonde flying to the other side!

Some other nonsense seemed to be going on but he didn't care to pay attention, no, his sights were set on watching the Nevermore for an opening.

That's when he saw the girl- no he saw someone he didn't know at all slice at the birds face with her weapons.

As much as he hated to say it…..she was skilled.

"It's tougher than it looks"

"Then let's hit it with everything we got!" The blonde replied, preparing her gauntlets. The other girl did the same, and his partner transformed her weapon into a scythe.

Whitley did the same, his knife shifting into its spear form as he held it in an attacking position.

Ready…..

Aim….

FIRE!

Whitley span the chamber of his spear and twirled to send out a stream of ice, then the chamber continued to spin and he send out a fireball as the other members of team RWBY were using bullets and firepower to shoot at the creature.

HA! Again! Spirals of blue and red flied at the creature as bullets bounced off its thick hide. The beast swept at them and they jumped out of the way.

Whitley rolled to his feet and growled. "this isnt working!"

CRASH

The beast flew into the tower reducing it to rubble, after looking to his right to see the rest of his team were making their way up the pieces of rubble and jumping up them he followed suite.

Piece to piece of falling rubble he jumped onto, letting his glyph act a platform when needed.

Finally Ruby and him landed on solid ground, a bridge not yet destroyed by the grim. He found himself looking to his partner as he heard Yang charge back into the fight in the background.

"None of this is working!"

Said partner then seemed to stare into nothing, certainly not at a girl with a bow.

She looks around, Whitley could see the math forming in her head. He felt a very heavy sinking feeling... Like he was wearing cemented shoes and Father invited him to a swim in the lake after he suggested higher pay (poor Mr. Richard). "...you have a plan?"

She smirks, "I have a plan."

"...great."

/

He took the spear at his side and- HYA!

On top of a side tower Yang was unloading shotgun shells into the bird in the sky, one seemed to catch it's eye and cause it to sweep at her! The brawler then jumped up into the beak! Was she…..no- she held the beak open with one hand and her foot, as she used a free hand to unload another few rounds into the beasts insides!

Note to self, be careful around this one.

Once again the Nevermore landed, roaring out in pain and anger. Now….was his chance!

Using his glyphs he propelled himself across the bridge faster than he could by foot, and with a well placed jump and extend of his spear he sent shards of crystals to surround the creatures tail and pin it in place!

He wasted no time in reaching his next position. Ruby jumped onto a black ribbon held tightly by Yang and the One That Does Not Exist, her feet on top of her scythe's blade. How will she avoid cutting her feet? Doesn't matter right now Whitley! He quickly used a glyph to hold her in place, shrinking his weapon back to a knife he aims it carefully at the giant Grimm.

"This is nuts." he stats matter of factly.

"Think you can hit it?" Ruby asks him.

"Obviously." _I'm Whitley Schnee, I HAVE to hit it._

And with that his Glyph changed and Ruby rocketed forward.

Ruby landed on the mountain side with a THUMP, the blade of her scythe holding the birds neck in place as a white glyph appeared below her. Then a series of glyphs ran along the mountain side upwards, letting Ruby run upwards and drag the beast along with her!

As she reached the top his partner span her body around to grip the beasts neck harder, and with the momentum from running up the mountain…..the things head came clean off!

A flurry of petals followed as Ruby landed, the fight…..was over.

 _That...was, fun?_

 _/_

 _Dear diary._

 _These past 2 days have been….an experience. Why not as bad as initially thought, some of my fears were proven correct. Such as a Faunus having issues with me because of my family name._

 _I can't only recount bad things however, it seems I at least can work with my team. Even if one of them probably wants me dead, and may or may not be a terrorist._

 _Let's start in chronological order. First was coming here, and it wasn't entirely bad. Commoners transport does seem a tad...cramped for my liking, but there wasn't fighting at every corner like my mind had feared. More vomiting than one would have thought though. And by the gods that boy is insufferable. He_ insists _that he's my "bro". I suspect he is secretly some kind of genius using this idiotic disguise in order to trick people. I can respect that, but he used it on me to distance myself from him and Pyrrha Nikos….truly diabolical._

 _My first "friend" here was one Miss Ruby Rose, she quite literally ran into me._

 _She seems to be….innocent. A innocent voice and face, pure mannerisms. She's...an idiot. But a resourceful one._

 _Then there is her sister. While… not sure how I feel about her just yet… it has been decided that I should stay on her good side._

 _The other one_ does not _exist._

 _These three women and… Jaune, are the only ones that I have interacted with so far. It must have been fate that I have been placed on a team with Ruby, Yang, and… ugh, the one that doesn't exist. Ozpin named our team "Team Ruby" spelled RWBY… horrible spelling aside the most insulting thing about it is the matter of who is the leader of said team._

 _Ruby._

 _Honestly I believe she's only the leader so the team name can make sense._

 _But, I can't say I ever truly desired leading a group of teenage hormonal girls for four years of my life, possibly longer (in my nightmares). So I'll… do my best to survive Ruby's incompetence._

 _-Yours sincerely, Whitley Schnee_

He finished with a flick of his pen, he swears...only people like himself even bother to use pen and paper now a days. His intention turned to the fact of the other girls still arguing over how the room should be settled. With his diversion done, he simply closed it and placed it somewhere safe before reaching for the door. They never even saw him leave…..

As the Schnee boy left, he looked around the halls with mild interest. They seemed neat and tidy at least, but not to the level he had grown to expect from living conditions. Was this normal?

Whitley used his memory to head towards the mess hall for breakfast. It was a giant room filled with tables, food, and students. Whitley was caught off guard by the fact that faunus were allowed to eat with the humans... But even he could see the obvious racism there and moved on with his life. He'd just have to get used to… coliving.

He visibly shutters.


	5. Chapter 5

After a quick breakfast by himself he made his way into the first class of the day. Professor port's grimm studies. He took his time picking a seat in the front of the class, took his time taking out materials he'd need, and organizing them as he saw fit. He sat down and waited for his team to arrive.

They fell into the classroom before the bell rung. He couldn't help but chuckle.

/

Of course, his partner in crime- no rather...his partner in forced education sat next to him. He turned to her, raising his snowy eyebrows curiously.

"Are you actually going to take this seriously?"

He asked in a condescendingly cocky tone.

"Of course! I am totally serious! 100% serious Ruby mode…...engage!"

"Seriously people don't say serious mode…."

He scoffed, turning his mind away. It wouldn't be long at all until he would turn back to her- seeing her….looking out of a window and not paying attention at all. With a heavy sigh the Schnee took the paper from in front of her and began to scribble down small notes. It was mainly simple things such as writing down the actual important facts the professor would spew out.

In a way he couldn't blame Ruby for spacing out during all of this, but what he can blame her for is somehow falling asleep in the middle of class!

"Hh…..cookies…."

She muttered in her sleep.

"Quite correct Miss Rose! The Faunus gained control of the cocoa powder supply- so during the war one of the many items not commonly available would be cookies!"

….His eye twitched, this team will take….a lot of getting used to.

/

As class ended, he would wake Ruby up with a gentle nudge...followed by him quite literally dragging her away.

"Whiiitleeeeyyy…..a few more minutes, I'm sure the professor won't mind."

His grip on her wrist tightened

"We are going to sort out the sleeping arrangements now."

He barked

While Ruby sleepily rubbed her eyes to see Whitley grabbing her wrist and- squealing?

"Ah! You're showing physical affection!"

….Another eye twitch

"Besides, we already figured out sleeping arrangements. " piped up Yang, "while you were gone."

"...what?" this could only end badly.

/

"Tada! The suspended bed! Made by yours truly!"

Whitley's mouth fell open, he was staring at a man made monstrosity of rope holding up a bed without its legs right above the bed he slept- or attempted to sleep- in.

...His rage seemed to make his fists visibly shake.

"I know I know, it's so hard to explain your joy at my creation! It's ok Whitley, you are-"

She was cut off by Whitley storming out the room.

And the…..the room was filled by a awkward silence

"I think he loves it!" Yang chimed in with a thumbs up.

/

 _That insufferable_ child! _I cannot believe shes making me do this!_

He thinks as he orders two bunk beds with gritted teeth. Bunk beds where the only way to fit everyone in the cramped first year dorm room. Now all he needed to do was get rid of that death trap while Ruby is away so he wouldn't have to hear her whining about it.

/

Eventually, later on in the library while Whitley was working on his homework, the red reaper appeared before him- awkwardly waving her hand.

"Hehe….good morning…."

"It's afternoon"

He replied with a monotone coldness, looking away from her and back to the homework he was handed.

"Look- I know things are….complicated right now, we're all stressed! It's scary and I was made the leader of a team out of the blue and IT'S ALL REALLY CONFUSING! But…..I know I can do this- I have to do this. For Yang, Blake...and you. So please, just….talk to me."

The girl pleaded, very much using the puppy dog eyes technique so often used on her sister.

For a while, Whitley didn't even look up. It was only when Ruby turned to leave that he finally spoke up

"... I have Insomnia, I have trouble sleeping and I just can't have a bed hanging over me via rope while I already struggle to rest. This isn't about your leadership. You haven't proven yourself a good one… or a bad one, yet." he looks up to her face, "that's to be seen."

A soft, barely visible, smile formed on his lips. Ruby almost broke into tears there- but instead resorted to hugging him tightly

"Thank you thank you thank you! I'm so sorry you have to go through that...but we'll sort it out! It's my job as a leader!"

She missed his eye twitch.

/

Yang watched Whitley as he fiddled with the settings of his piano keyboard, Ruby chattering practically on top of him much to his apparent annoyance, Ruby didn't notice.

From what she could tell, they got along….fine. Not well but- he wasn't overly mean to her in any means. Sure he was stuck up and needed to be taken down a peg, but he did seem to genuinely care and worry for Ruby. He seemed to be a good partner that needed to come out of his shell a little.

But it was that shell that….really concerned her. She's used to having younger siblings, and she can tell Whitley isn't being...entirely honest with them. It's like he's putting on a front- a mask. The boy purposely pushed them away...and she wondered why. He's a Schnee, his life couldn't be all that bad right? Well you can never tell….

It was also a concern how he reacted to Blake. He ignored her anger, and this….really got under her skin. Her partner was mysterious and lonesome, but from what Yang could tell she was slowly opening up to Ruby and herself. But Whitley? Why? She's heard of the rumors regarding how the Schnee dust company treats Faunus workers, but it's not like he's directly at fault. He's not shown any racist behavior…..then again, no one who's ever really racist seems racist in the first place.

It was a hard situation, and honestly it felt like it'd get out of hand if she didn't do something about it.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. As one Blake Bellandona decided to speak up.

"Do you even know how to play that thing?"

No response from whitley as he fiddled with a dial.

Blake visibly Bristled.

Yang lightly grabbed Blake's wrist, looking dead into her eyes with a serious look that seemed to say 'We need to talk, now'

Without much trouble Blake sighed after a few seconds and found herself being dragged out of the room by Yang.

As they came outside, Blake managed to free her wrist of Yang's grip.

"Alright, What is it?"

She asked, sounding ignorant.

"What's your deal? Why do you keep pushing him?" Yang questioned, folding her arms.

"MY deal? He's the one ignoring me! I'm just trying to get him to react to me!"

The black haired girl hissed, her bow twitching atop her raven colored hair. Weird.

"Do you think MAYBE he's not reacting because he doesn't want to get in a fight?"

She retorted.

"If he's in the right than he has nothing to fear! He's running because he's guilty!"

"...Look, you're my partner." Yang began, resting a hand on her partners shoulder. "I know it can be….less than good when you feel ignored. But if you keep going like this then It'll affect the team. Are you really going to make this harder than it needs to be for Ruby? If you can't do it for me or yourself- do it for her. At least TRY and be friendlier and maybe he'll reply!"

She finally snapped out, sighing softly before giving her a bright smile.

"Now why don't we go and try again?"

Blake stared at her before huffing and nodding. "Fine."

Yang watched as Blake walked back into the room.

"...Sorry." she gritted out towards whitley. Ruby gasped and clapped happily.

Whitley just pulled off one side of his headphones, "Did someone say something?"

"I said I'm sorry!" Blake snapped.

"I must have imagined it." he covers his ear again.

Yang can add petty to Whitley's list.

/

As Whitley walked down the hall, he found himself observing quite a site. That brute, Cardin winchester, was pulling on a Rabbit faunus's ear. He scoffed and turned away. Such brutal acts befit a barbarian like himself. Now don't get him wrong, it's not like he's a Faunus lover or anything. Rather….he's neutral. They want equal rights and he expects them to work for it, he has no hand in the matter. They make good workers of course, but the trouble in that is underpaying them leads to damages that far outweighs the money saved from underpaying them. Honestly his father is a fool for not seeing as such.

He squeezes his eyes shut as he thinks about what the white fang have done because of such mistreatment, he felt that his family never deserved such horrible acts, but the white fang are horrible people that wont let him sleep at night. if only they didn't become so violent.

The white fang did make them equal in a sense, equal in suffering.

Anyhow, he turned to his table and looked on at everyone. They seemed to be observing this horrible act too.

"Can someone pass the salt?" _either do nothing or something, stop looking like idiots in limbo._

"Honestly look at that….it's disgusting." Ruby said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, someone outta put that guy in his place" Yang would chime in, clanging her fists together

"Salt, please" He repeated

"Are you just going to act like that's not happening? Is it not just me, is it just Faunus, Schnee?" Blake growled, showing her teeth.

Whitley sighs and gets the salt himself and puts some on his mashed potatoes. "You think you can put him in his place by just beating him up? Racists don't stop just because they have some bruises. Violence only breeds more violence, what are we? The White Fang?"

….And after that the room became creepily silent, until someone decided to break the silence. Onto the last person he thought about.

"Jaune, isn't that the guy that bullies you?"

"Huh? Oh uh….it's nothing, just some….harmless fun is all." He replied, waving their comment off.

 _So, he wasn't just a racist but a bully too? Ah Jaune, clearly he didn't want to get his team into any trouble. He's handling the situation by himself and testing his limits, he's truly a leader concerned about his team and thinks only of them…_

Whitley then turned to see Ruby trying to fit peas up her nose

…. _Why can't we have a leader like that?_

"You're a good leader, Jaune, I'm sure you can take care of yourself."

Whitley stated, suddenly and seemingly out of character.

"Awww, thanks bro!"

…..For a genius, he still insists on using that annoying phrase.

He swore he could hear the sound of grinding teeth in the direction of she who must not be named….and Pyrrha? Strange…

/

"JELLY JELLY GET IN MY BELLY!"

Ruby called out, holding a jar with a pink liquidy substance that was still somehow solid.

"You will not eat the Sapp! You'll attract Grimm!" Whitley called out from a few tree's over. The undignified task making his voice far more annoyed sounding than usual.

"AWWW!" Ruby whines.

As they continued to squabble, they soon heard a mighty roar behind them- somewhere into the trees. The remaining members of JNPR came too- with their leader missing.

They would run towards the sound, only to see a mighty beast of a grimm standing high above all of them and growling with glowing eyes of anger.

Now running away from them was team CRDL, and then the missing member of JNPR stood there between them. He considered stepping in before seeing the look on Jaune's face, so fierce and….manly! He never saw this side of the tactical genius!

As he rushed forward for a final blow against the beast, the claw seemed to be going down on top of the boy. But out of the corner of his eye he saw Pyrrha's hand move, the leaders shield raising with this action and blocking the claw so he can step in closer. Mustering up all his strength the blonde landed one last blow and sliced the monsters head clean off!

With that said and done he walked over to Cardin, who had tripped amongst the chaos.

"You can mess with me, but never EVER mess with my team again. Okay?"

He said with enough venom for everyone there to feel. Whitley shuddered.

As the Bully nodded, Whitley also found himself nodding.

Yes….Jaune Arc will make a fine leader. And perhaps….Ruby will be in time too.

"Oooooh, she controls poles…." Ruby mutters to herself, Whitley was missing the context, but he facepalmed anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

Whitley sighs as he sits down at his keyboard, making sure to plug in his headphones before playing the instrument. As everyone dreamed he moved his fingers across the keys, making a world of sound and emotion, for his ears only.

At Least, that's what he thought, unaware of Blake's gold eyes watching him, her bow perked up.

His Insomnia made it impossible to really sleep, as long as his brain is active he may as well make use of it. Fingers graced across ivory keys and the beat played in his ears perfectly. Each stroke was made with precision, each strike calculated to unleash a world of music onto unsuspecting ears.

Blake….listened. She listened to the beautifully timed melody play out, her ears twitched as each note graced her ears with more calculated sweet sounds.

As ashamed as she was to admit it…..he was good. No- more than just good. She observed his movements out the corner of her eyes. He was….too familiar with this. Not like a passion of enjoyment- no. Like he was made to strike each key perfectly until his bones ached. It was calculated, as everything was with him.

But…..there was still more. Behind the mask of perfectly placed notes, was a small hinge of enjoyment. A smile once lost to the world that he kept hidden. Was he actually more than met the eye? No, he's a Schnee. He's a proven racist and he-...

Well he wasn't proven, but it wasn't like he was innocent either! Ugh, it's like his entire person is one big hypocritical mess.

…..Damn it, she can't sleep like this. How could she? All her attention was made to listening to this beautiful melody and her festering anger towards the one playing it. She was mad she was enjoying this.

It's Whitley Schnee! He's a monster!...Right? If he isn't a monster, then what is she even fighting against?

Is….is this really justified?

With all that the SDC did to her people, how could it not be? Monsters are bred from monsters and Jacques is the biggest monster of all in her eyes. So, She could only keep fighting and do what she thought right. Still, it's going to be hard to sleep if he keeps playing so….damn well.

….

…...In the end...she managed to drift to sleep. She wound up sleeping in, Ruby's insistence she get up making her irritable.

Whitley was always irritable when waking up, usually getting an hour or three of sleep. But after spending a good amount of time in the bathroom and dazedly drinking the coffee from the instant coffee maker he brought, he was ready for the day.

"Today is going to be so cool! So many weapons are coming here for the vytal festival today! I-I mean people!" Ruby chuckles. Whitley miserably nurses his coffee. "Sounds… ugh, too tired to care."

Ruby pats his arm, always forgiving his rude attitude in the mornings, insomnia must suck!

/

"WHITLEY WE NEED TO SEE THE VYTAL FESTIVAL RIGHT NOW LIKE RIGHT NOW THERE'S GOING TO BE WEAPONS AND PEOPLE AND WEAPONS ATTACHED TO THOSE PEOPLE-"

Whitley sighed, covering the girls mouth as she continued to yell excited sentences about weapons. Why so early….? Anyway, he decided to put this to rest.

"Ruby, I am sure you have a whole big day planned out. But please, let me take a shower."

Blake moaned in agreement but he ignored her as usual.

Ruby pouts. "Fiiiine. But hurry up!"

"Come on Blakey, time to get up and attem!" Yang joined in, so they were morning people….no wonder one of their mothers left.

Harsh maybe, but honestly morning people are the worst. Anyhow, Whitley found himself lazily slogging over to the shower. He went in without question or warning anyone, he was far too tired to negotiate. If they wanted him out they can damn well barge in and take him by force.

After everyone was showered and ready Whitley resigned himself to be dragged along by Ruby. the streets of vale was decorated and festive, which was interesting to look at, at least.

Ruby looked around before grabbing Whitley's arm and dragging him towards the docks. The rest of the team followed "I bet they are arriving soon!"

Whitley raised his eyebrow at his partner, "Why would they come via boat?"

Ruby just shrugged. "I'unno."

"Perhaps these are students from Vacuo?" Whitley added on, thinking to himself. As he stood there trapped in his own mind, the rest of the team looked down the street to see what looked to be police tape around a dust store.

"What happened?" Ruby asked out loud.

"Looks like a dust robbery" Blake added

"Probably the work of the White Fang…" Whitley would sigh

"What do you mean?" Blake questioned with a annoyed look, Whitley just ignored it.

"I don't know Blake, I mean….they are terrorists." Yang would chime in, leading the Faunus to twitch in anger.

"Oh and now you're on his side too?!"

"I'm not on anyone's side but ours!"

"You don't know anything about me! You-"

"SHUT UP!"

The constant arguing was interrupted by what seemed to be a annoyed Whitley, he….actually turned to Blake.

"Will you just _shut up_ for once?! Your constantly-!"

He was interrupted by a monkey faunus bumping into him. He watched as cops gave chase. "Oh look, another faunus criminal."

"What so all Faunus are criminals now?"

Whitley snarled

"Police are chasing him, what else could he be? A beauty pageant winner?"

"Maybe he's been wronged in some way, you can't claim to know the truth about someone you just-"

"Oh will you shut up! You want a reaction, fine! Here it is! No I do not hate faunus. I do not give a shit! Frankly it isn't my battle to fight!" He would snarl, his blue eyes glowing in frustration

"Not your battle? It's because of people like you we need to resort to violence!" Blake would respond

"You do not solve violence with more violence. I do not care for faunus, I treat them as I would anyone who hasn't proved themselves to me. I am Whitley Schnee, and I will not tolerate someone like you taking my words out of context."

"Out of context?! I wouldn't need to if you actually gave me context! Why are you so secretive?! What is it? Got something to hide, Schnee?"

"That is none of your business." he snapped.

"It is my business because we're supposed to be a team!"

"That's a laugh coming from you of all people, your the biggest bi-" he side eyes Ruby then looks back at Blake "you've hated my guts since we _met_ and you expect me to consider putting my time and effort into _working_ with you? Why should I tell you _Anything_? You're not worth my time."

"UGH! Why must you be so..! I should be worth your time because I'm your team mate! I've just been trying to fit in since I've been stuck with you!"

"Fit in? Is that what you call it?"

He continues to fight with Blake all the way to their dorm room. Ruby wanted to stop the fight but didnt know how, and Yang wanted to know how this would go, this is the first time Whitley has acknowledged her partner…

"All I was saying is that the white fang has become murderers and thieves because they _Murdered_ and _stole_. I of all people would know that!"

"You don't know anything!"

"Oh don't I? Blake Belladonna? You think I don't know what the white fang has done to my family? Has done to me?! It's because of them I can't sleep at night! They're despicable monsters!"

"We just wanted to be equals!" Blake yelled, chest heaving.

Whitley cocked his head, "We? So you are white fang after all."

Blakes eyes widened and she took a step back. Before she could think to turn and run Whitley summoned a glyph behind her, keeping her in place.

Whitley looked livid. His anger was beyond fire, it had turned to ice.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. What she saw in them frightened her.

"You wanted equality, Belladonna? Well congratulations. We're equals in suffering." He declared with a solem finality.

For a instant he saw his sisters scared face. So he turned around and dropped the glyph with a shaky huff.

He heard her footsteps as she ran away. He closed his eyes as he felt tears well up.

 _Drip..drip...drip_

The water of salty tears flowed down his cheeks, bitterly he let the tears pool as his hands shook in his blurred vision.

Yang steps forward and grabs him, turning him around she cocks her arm back… but seeing his face she couldn't do it. But she wanted to. "What the _hell_ was that?!"

He...couldn't speak- he could barely keep the breathy whines of crying out of his throat.

Yang was obviously furious, and Ruby was frightened.

Ruby's frightened face was what scared him most, it made him realize how much of a monster he seemed to be in front of her.

Is….he any better than the white fang?

Moments pass… Ruby looks around. "We… should find Blake." she speeds off using her semblance. She didn't look at him.


End file.
